Just an Update

I am a rock; I am an island.

Does that Simon and Garfunkel lyric have any significance to this blog? Nope. Sure doesn’t. I’ve just been on a bit of a Simon and Garfunkel kick lately.

Welp. It’s official. The semester is over; exams were given, brows were furrowed, chocolate bribes were accepted and grades were noted. I taught my first real semester, y’all. Aside from the large amount of work, it was great. I learned a lot lot. Also, I finally convinced my students – all three classes worth – that I am indeed, actually, funny. Sort of. Hey, you take what you can get.

Quick story: Yesterday was the last day. We administered our oral exams, turned in our books and keys, etc. Tradition dictates a gathering of teachers shall occupy a nearby pub for a coffee or something perhaps a bit stronger (or in my case: two hamburgers, a basket of fries and cheese sticks… and chips with hummus). Well, at this little club now stuffed with suits and ties and formality, a Peruvian band that covered nothing but classic rock songs (DOUBLE BONUS) happened to play ‘The Wall’ by Pink Floyd. What did all of the teachers do, you ask? Well, we all stood up and yelled, “HEY! TEACHA! LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE!” then proceeded to air guitar. No, I don’t have any pictures of this. I’m sorry. Perhaps if I was a better writer, I could paint the scene with words. But I can’t. Anywho. I thought it was a bit funny? I mean, it’s fine if you don’t… I just wanted to share. Fine! I won’t next time. Nerd.

I believe this will be my last weekend in Arequipa. My roomie and I were supposed to head South to Arica, Chile, but we both had some things pop up that needed to be attended to. Being that it is our last weekend here, I believe we are going to join a few friends and make our way to the country side tomorrow. Yes, you’re right – this sounds very familiar. I promise I’m not going to cry hysterically like I did last time if it doesn’t work out. Either way, that’s the plan. Sunday is birthday. I plan on eating a lot of expensive, traditional Peruvian cuisine on everyone else’s expense. What? At least I’m honest about it. Ooo! A Tom Collins, too. I’ve been wanting some good gin ever since I met that British couple a few weeks back.

Concerning pictures, this blog is rather dry. I think what I may do is wait to get to the U.S. to get all of my film developed where it will serve as a flood of memories that will most likely make me very anxious and hungry.  Phew. Long sentence.

Next week - Thursday, to be exact – I head to Puno, home of Lake Titicaca. I will stay there in hostels and with families only to start work on Monday. Hopefully, I will be able to visit some of the old Incan ceremonial sites while I’m there. Well, I better. I’ll be mega-pissed if I don’t. The rest of the travel itinerary concerning work has not changed. I still have yet to figure out my exact travel plans for when I finish work on July 28^th. I’ll keep you updated. 

Until then,

Jonathon

Pichu Pichu

Remember when learning how to write a paper the teacher/professor always said that you need an great opening sentence to capture the reader’s attention?

‘I climbed a volcano in the Andean desert’

HOW ‘BOUT THAT TEACH! Also, Peruvians are like mountain goats. They sorta hop around till they reach the top. I also found out that Pisco (a Peruvian liquor similar to rum) is not only used to liven up the scene at disco clubs, but also to temporarily cure altitude sickness. I took several shots. Yay for tipsy climbing! I’m just glad that I finally have something worth bra..Blogging! about.

The recount:

My roommate and I planned on hiking El Misti this past weekend, yet that proved to be a little too pricey. Well, not really. We’re just kind of cheap. We made a friend at the coffee shop we frequent most afternoons that happened to be in an adventure club called ‘Expediciones de Peru.’ She filled us in on a potential hike up to Coranado – the highest point on Pichu Pichu (a nearby extinct volcano). For transportation there and back plus group services, the whole shindig cost us 70 soles per person, which is about $27. Of course, it cost us a little more than that with food and rental equipment and what not, but I won’t bore you any longer with logistics.

After a morning filled with scrambling, searching and stealing (jk), we met with the rest of the gang who were waiting at the Plaza de Armas. The ride via bus took nearly 3 hours being that the country roads aren’t in the best shape. Despite the seemingly long and dusty road, my soul was already beginning to smile. The small villages and fields filled with traditional Peruvians working their land and tending to their animals was absolutely divine. With every passing second there was something else to be seen. Note to self: go back. take lot of pictures. 

Though we arrived to the drop-off point rather late, we partook in some night time trekking. Nothing like watching the sunset over the mountains at about 11,000 feet (unless you’re watching it rise at 14,000!). Between the high altitude and the temperature, the Andean desert planes were already starting to mess with my head a little. I believe that true mountaineers might indeed be a different sort of druggie that depend the on the lack of oxygen to fuel their hallucinations. With nothing but a small headlamp to light my way, I began to see some weird shadows. Of course I was excited! I tried muttering things in Spanish to my fellow group members, but my mouth was rather frozen. If I could imitate the sound via text, I sure as hell would, because that shit was hilariously embarrassing. Or the look on their faces was for that matter.

We arrived at the base camp after about 3 hours of night trekking where Phil and I set up shop and tried to get some sleep. Tried. The altitude was starting to become noticeable. With the temperature dropping to about zero and my intensified breathing, I didn’t sleep worth a damn. Yes, worth a DAMN. But, my GOD! The stars! By the time people started to awake for the ascent, I had been awake for 36 hours. Score? We started the second assault on Pichu Pichu at 4:00 a.m. sharp leaving our tents and sleeping bags behind. With a shot of Pisco and a bar of chocolate in my system, I began to feel strong once more. Little did I know how much I truly needed that vigor for the climb ahead. Watching the sun rise over the surrounding mountains and lakes while hearing absolutely nothing but the sound of your fellow hiker’s heals was truly a moment to behold. Life is nothing but moments, ya know? Soul smile.

After the sun rose completely, I began to feel my body working harder with every step. As we climbed higher and higher, the group began to separate more and more. It reminded me of my morning runs with my old running club, really. A strong pack in the beginning only to be separated with every passing mile until, eventually, you are alone. Not that I was complaining. I found a small nook on the side of the volcano where I managed to scarf down a little food and water. Although, my stomach didn’t like me too much at that point (nor did everything else biological, really). 

Nearing our targeted peak, I really was noticing how hard it was to breathe let alone climb up an ever increasing slope that was now covered with splotches of ice (that tasted pretty good). In an effort to keep going, I began taking more and more breaks. Originally, each break was just that: a break. However, they quickly begun to turn into arguments between my pride and my rationale. Pride says, “keep going you frieken’ wimp!” (recounted politely).  Rationale says, “Jonathon, you do KNOW (always talking down n’ stuff) that you haven’t slept, and this is your first REAL climb. It’s ok to turn back. I won’t say anything.” Of course rationale did nothing but piss me off. I tried my best to keep fighting reason, but eventually, it won.

I stared at the final ice drift that lead to the top for what seemed to be hours.  At about 18,000 ft. with less than 500 ft. to go, I turned back. Shit, I was pissed. But, I knew that if I were to climb the rest, I would not have been able to climb back down. I was hurtin’. Physical and mental exhaustion. Good thing I didn’t have to traverse down and hike another 6 miles to the pick-up point, right? Not right. Least it was still incredibly pretty. 

Though my body hated me, and still does for that matter, my soul shine has been replenished with a battery that should last for some time. I breathed some of the freshest air that one could breathe, and listened to some of the quietest nothing that one could hear. I’m a happy man.

Hopefully this weekend I will be headed to a small surfer’s town in Northern Chili. It IS my birthday weekend, ya know.

I MEESH YEW!

Jonathon

Jubilation and Frustration

Jubilation and Frustration:

Frustrated. Frustrating. Frustration. Mainly at myself. And things? Like the air. Piss off, air. This is the second weekend (really the third) that I have been in Arequipa and done nothing worth bragging about. That’s how I judge if things are worth doing – if they score enough pizzaz to do some back-door bragging to my friends and family. Of course this is not true, but it might have a little worth. I had plans to visit the outskirts of Arequipa this weekend with some fellow Peruvians, yet both fell through last minute.

The thing is folks… I’m dying to get out of this city. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty rad. The architecture in the central square, the baroque citadels, the food, the hidden cafés and the decorated decayed walls are all worth checking out.  BUT. Coming from a state that boasts over 63% of forest coverage, we have some pretty sweet smellin’ air. I mean, you can literally open your window and a rush of hot air filled with the scent of honeysuckle (or something) will fill the room. It’s fantastic! This might not sound (or smell like) that big of a deal, but to someone with a schnoz like me, IT IS. Arequipa has very little green space, horrible emissions standards and nearly 1,000,000 peeps, which results in very poor air quality. There is a constant visible haze when you look up to the surrounding mountains. At first, I thought it was nothing more than some moisture. BUT THEN! I remembered that Peru boasts some of the driest areas in all of South America. Definitely not moisture. Smog. Yes, smog. Can you imagine? Me? In a city that is actually affected by smog? Yeah, me neither. So there. That’s why I want to see the country side so badly. Nope. I’m not finished pouting about it. Ok, now I am.

This brings on to the Jubilation!

After discovering the second fall out, I decided that I needed to eat. And run. And eat some more. Yeah, those are good. Well, normally I never listen to music during my run because I feel as if it disrupts my connection with Motha Earf but there is no Motha Earf here so… I listened to some Simon and Garfunkel. Have you ever tried being mad while listening to Simon and Garfunkel? It’s impossible! I decided that if I wanted to get out of here, I should stop placing so much dependence on my Peruvian brethren. Not that they’re not super helpful, but that eggs in multiple baskets thing sounds better. Development. My mind is made up. I’m hiking El Misti this weekend.  I’m going to summit that bad boy – or girl? – that bad WOMAN! sporting my finest Zissou hat with a mustache that will make the finest highway patrol officer jealous. Excitement! That daughter-of-a-dick is over 19,000 feet tall! Boom.

More Jubilation!

I’ve been working a lot. I mean a lot, lot. Which means I get paid more! Yay! Also! I was recorded by a book publisher for the listening exercises in an English book. I was told that I have some wicked diction… DIVA. Cool thing about that is publishers often share listening portions with other publishers and since this was one of the bigger ones, my voice will be heard throughout South America and even Cuba. BIGGER DIVA! I didn’t get paid for it. Who cares. In terms of regular classes, I think I’ve gotten the hang of it. I’ve been assigned a mentor. She’s nice and super helpful. Also, I started observing classes. Yay for learning!

MOST JUBILATION!

Next month I WILL be traveling for work. All expenses paid! Here is my itinerary:

·         July 3-6 – Arequipa

·         July 9-13 – Puno (home of Lake Titicaca and some wicked Incan ceremonial cites)

·         July 16-19 – Tacna (not much here, but very close to Chili (extra stamp))

·         July 20^th – Back in Arequipa to help with a celebration

·         July 23-27 – Ilo (Off of the Coast in the South that hosts some decent water but  really fascinating swampish ecosystems)

·         July 28-30/31 – Arequipa

Of course… like everything here, it is subject to change (and probably at the last minute).

What I hope to do is get my bus tickets advanced to each city and stay in hostels until Monday. This will allow me much more time to explore and hike. Puno and Lake Titicaca area boast some of the greatest vistas this world has to offer and my plan is to see them all. One of the greatest things about all of this traveling is that I won’t have an apartment. What? Bad, you say? Nay! GREAT! That means I won’t have to pay rent n’ stuff! Of course it’s only 300 soles plus utilities, which doesn’t equate to about $150-$180, but still! That’s food! Lots of it!!!

I still plan on doing tons of traveling after work. I hope it will work out. I’m going to do my best, ok! Stop pressuring me! I CAN’T TAKE IT. Yeah, I can. Almost forgot! Here are a few pictures I took around the city yesterday!

Plaza de Espana.

Haha.

Smell ya later,

Jonathon

El Cultural

I suppose there are two topics to cover – food and school. As most of you all know, this is basically the center point of my focus, anyway. Nothing new. 

 

Recent pertinent topics!!!

·        - First week of classes has come to a close.

·         -Peruvian cuisine now loves me as much as I love her. It. Yeah?

·         -I will be traveling almost all of July for work, then in August for play. oOoOo.

·        - Tom the Turkey is nowhere to be scene. His boisterous, beautiful morning gobble has been replaced by some cocky cock’s cockle-doodle-doodle-do. I just hope he was pardoned first.

So! I suppose I should start with my first love – food. Never have I been disappointed by la comida Peruano. Not once. Though my taste bud’s (and wallet’s) overbearing love for these new delights had me jumping for joy, my stomach preferred to just send me running to the restroom. I have yet to determine whether it thought that my first two days of class needed some excitement, or that it just fears change. Some things will just remain a mystery. Now that my immune system is up to par, I have dove headfirst into the Peruvian foods - caldo blanco, ceviche, lomo saltado, pollo a la plancha, empanadas, aji de gallina, and much, MUCH more. Aside from the large portions (SCORE), the increase in real purchasing power is doing very well for me wallet. Several days ago I discovered the diamond of Menu Del Dias (lunch specials) at a small place called Pancho’s. A three course lunch with drink costs me S6, which converts to less than three American dollars. One may think, “Yeah, that’s typical for lunch to cost less in Latin America, blahdy blah blah…,” but this is no typical plate lunch. It is WONDIFEROUS! There are also a TON of vegetarian options around that offer similar style lunch specials for maybe one Sol more. Not that I’m a vegetarian or anything, but I really enjoy the fact that I can escape from the realm of meat for a few days if I so choose. I also found several pretty nice coffee shops within a few cuadras (blocks) within my place of work. One of which is French! I had a Crepe Suzette and Café au Lait yesterday and to tell you the truth, it was pretty damn good. I think that was the same day someone asked me if I was French? Wonder if my Zissou hat and moustache had something to do with that. Who caaarres!? - (said with a ridiculously bad French accent) – Oh! I don’t get off work until 8:45 p.m. right? Well this was bad. Until we found a taco stand called Tacos Mexicanos on the way home that is open all night near all of the salsa clubs (yes, a stand) that sells the best tacos everrr! One taco shares the same volume of about three Taco Bell tacos. I got two. Delicioso. So the food. Yeah. I feel as if I can continue to talk about it for a long time. I’ll stop for now. For now.

The other point that I would like to cover is la escuela. I am a teacher, y’all. I teach English at Centro Peruano Norte Americano; El Cultural for short.

The beginning of the week was pretty hectic. Like, real hectic. Between the War of Comida Peruano and El Estomago Americano and not finding out who or what I was teaching until the day of, I may have sprouted a wrinkle. But there is news to follow that reinvigorated my youthful spirit.

I teach three classes – one intermediate level and two advanced. I definitely have my work cut out for me between lesson plans, activities, training, observing and somehow convincing my three classes that I’m hilarious. The first week was definitely an adjustment phase, but I feel as if I have already learned so much. I’m certain that I will continue to progress in my learning as to how to more effectively convey my knowledge of the English language to my students. I think. Yeah, let’s go with certain.

In terms of a schedule:

Observe from 9:00-10:30

Teach Intermediate from 10:45-12:15

Lunch/break from 12:15 to 5:30 (lesson planning/coffee/rambling time)

Teach Advanced 1 from 5:30-7:00

Teach Advanced 4 from 7:15-8:45

I have not managed to go home during my break due to the time it takes to get back and forth from my apartment. It’s not long distance wise, but the commute via combi (small van service that makes New York cab drivers look like…well, wimps!) takes anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on the traffic.

I will administer an oral and written mid-term at the end of this coming up week along with an oral and written final at the end of June. Though my ideology during college for classmates passing or failing has always been a bit harsh, I’m quite worried for my students. I suppose the callousness didn’t have a passport or something, because it is nowhere to be found. I would not be concerned if I was able to write my own tests, but they are the equivalent of a departmental exam. Anywho. I will do my best to learn my students some of that there Anglish!

Traveling! After this normal semester of teaching, Phil and I will hold a workshop for the faculty of each branch of El Cultural. We will be in Arequipa the first week of July, but the second week we will start traveling to each other branch for 5 days (all expenses paid, what what!). We will go to Puno, Tacna, and Ilo – all of which are located in the South, but cool nonetheless. We will cover American holidays, customs and regional pronunciation differences. I hope to be able to do some weekend excursions along the way.

Speaking of traveling, now that I have a better idear of my schedule, I can start planning where to go! I have made some friends here at the institution that have been crazy helpful and I’ve been getting some great suggestions. So far, it’s looking like I will hike near the Inca trail and to the back door of Machu Picchu, which should take about 5 days. Also, I am in the works of a 4-5 day hike through Colca Canyon and the Sacred Valley. From there, I would take a bus to part of the jungle in the North. This would put me on track to catch my flight out of Lima back to the States. On my way to Lima, I hope to stop through Ica, which is the home of some of the largest sand dunes in the world!!! Snowboarding? No. Sandboarding. Gnarly. And righteous? Yes. Of course, this is all tentative. I have a lot of planning to do, and not to mention paychecks to collect. Though Peru is an inexpensive country, I lack some of the gear required for the hikes. Anyway. I feel as if I have talked enough.

Hasta Luego!

Jonathon

Oh, Stuff.

First off, let me apologize in advance for not being able to squeeze as much detail in these things as I would like. I LIKE TO USE MY HANDS WHEN I TALK AND I CAN’T (except… I sorta use them when I type I guess). Anyway. Today is laundry day. My boss was gracious enough to let Phil and I do laundry at his house. This is how laundry is done. 

Things are going very well! Arequipa is a very interesting city. I think I’m going to hold off on describing it until the very end, so I can accurately portray it with some real detail. I have been busy exploring the city, getting things for the apartment, getting acquainted with Spanish again, telling Tom the Turkey on the neighboring roof to quit gobbling at 5:30 a.m., that sort of thing.

Concerning work, (guys, I’m a frieken professor. That’s what people call me!!!) Phil and I have been quite busy. We have been going through a few orientation sessions that mainly consist of logistic nonsense, but the birthday party was pretty nice. The school has a party at the end of each month that celebrates all of the professor’s birthdays in one big bash. Twas fun. Turns out I’ll teach normal sessions during the month of June, but during July they will send me to several different cities to hold seminars for their other branches! Each seminar should last 4-5 days where I will teach the faculty about US customs, holidays, pronunciation and a few other things. I suppose that I should mention that each trip is all expense paid… BOOM! So. Pumped. Oh! I recently received news that I DID pass my TESOL test – talk about a burden lifted. Ha, I mean… had I not passed it, I might as well have packed my bags and advanced my plane ticket back home.

I guess I can talk about my apartment a little. It’s little. It’s quaint. It’s cool. I likes it. It has a bottom floor with a living room that doesn’t have a single chair in it with a nice little kitchen that is shared between Phil and me and the landlord – they have a neighboring apt. next to us.

It also has a pretty sweet roof that is accessible via a staircase in my room. This is where I chat with Tom the Turkey sometimes along with check out the view. Arequipa is in the Andes Mountains, so the altitude is already quite high (little more than 7,000 feet). Even so, there are three old, old volcanoes that overlook the city.

First, there is El Misti with a summit of over 19,000 feet:

Then, there is Chachani:

Finally, there is Pichu Pichu:

Yeah, those three pictures were taken off mah roof. I’m not too upset about it. Ahh… I guess I need to talk about some boring stuff right quick, right fast. I still do not have internet in my apt. I mainly have access at my place of work or an internet café. I do have a Peruvian cell, but I’m not telling you the number :P.  I think I have the address to my apartment finally, but I’m not 100 por ciento sure if it’s correct.  I think that’s about it? Hell, I’m already bored with that, so I will stop.

Until next time, folks.

Jonathon

The Beginning

May 30, 2012

So I went. I went from Long Beach to Starkville to Asheville to Black Mountain to Starkville to Long Beach to New Orleans to Atlanta to Lima to my destination, Arequipa, Peru.

Though it seemed like everything that could have been going wrong was indeed, going wrong, things are working out. A stressful Tuesday morning turned out to be nothing more than frivolous worrying and compounding the probability of a stray grey hair. The flight to New Orleans to Atlanta was nothing. Atlanta to Lima wasn’t too bad either? I think it last around 7 hours. I think. Yo creo. Customs was slow. Not difficult, just slow. My flight didn’t leave from Lima to Arequipa until 5:30 the next morning (forgot to mention that I landed in Lima at 11:30 p.m.), so I had some meandering time in the Lima airport, which was actually quite nice – the airport, not the rambling. I found a Starbucks to loiter in for several hours. I had tea. Earl Grey. So I guess that’s not loitering. Loitering still sounds cooler. We boarded the plane close to 5:00 a.m., where I arrived in Arequipa just shy of 7:00 a.m. With airplanes at small airports, the passengers are often escorted off of the plane right on the runway. So, yeah! That’s what we did. It was quite chilly! Que frio, no?

While walking towards to airport, the view of the surrounding mountains and volcanoes gave me a small shudder of excitement due to a flood of granola-esque idears that occupied my mind.

My boss, Sandro, picked me up a few minutes after my arrival. We took a small taxi to my new home for the summer – a quaint little two-story apartment in downtown Arequipa complete with a staircase to the roof that is begging to be made into a secondary living room/bedroom/whatever room. My roommate Phil appears to be a pretty cool cat. And when I say cat, I mean human. He is 10x the Gitano I can ever hope to be. We talked of teaching, traveling, surfing, potential hikes, places, ideas and whatever else two men who were once strangers talk of. 

Plan for the day is to run down to the market and get a few things for the apartment. Oh! I will probably get a Peruvian phone. Yeah, I suppose that seems like a good idea. Also, Sandro will pick Phil and me up to get lunch around two, and then go to the BNC – that’s my place of work. First day and I already have a teachers meeting! Love being productive with 1.5 hours of sleep. LOVE IT.

 Until next time! (Which shouldn't be but a few days)

Jonathon